


Splash Some Colour, Choose To Be Like No Other

by Featherine_Aurora



Series: Gainax/Trigger Stories [10]
Category: BNA: Brand New Animal (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Anthropomorphic, Canon Divergence, F/F, Female Protagonist, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Furry, Gay, Humor, Introspection, Lesbian Relationship, Mystery, POV Female Character, POV Lesbian Character, Relationship(s), Romance, Spoilers, Supportive Relationship, Supportive Shirou, Surrogate Parental Figure, Yuri, post episode 6
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherine_Aurora/pseuds/Featherine_Aurora
Summary: After her last meeting with her special friend, Michiru is uncertain about herself, her choices and of what might lie ahead. She has the aid of others, such as Shirou, and has a determination to stand by what she believes. But as the hurdles ahead only seem to be getting worse and with Nazuna determined to stay on her own dangerous path, will that be enough?
Relationships: Hiwatashi Nazuna/Kagemori Michiru, Kagemori Michiru & Ogami Shirou, Nina Flip & Kagemori Michiru
Series: Gainax/Trigger Stories [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546741
Comments: 5
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Right, this fic involves a number of new things for me in regards to writing fanfics, a new fandom, new characters and my first time writing a fic for something like Brand New Animal. Hopefully, all of that will still allow for a fic that you will enjoy, dear readers. I've written this chapter to see if I can create something good enough for readers and write the characters right while hopefully being able to continue it at a later point.  
> Comments and kudos will be very appreciated

Michiru put down her phone and leaned back against the sofa, letting herself relax. Even her racoon ears drooped a bit as she did her best to relax her body.

_I think I’m getting used to this, to being a beastman and seeing myself as one._

Well, acknowledging that she was a beastman and seeing that was technically something she had been able to do simply by looking in a mirror.

_Thanks for pointing that out, brain._

She’d spend so long hiding in her room back in her old home because of whatever had happened to her. She was keenly aware of the physical aspect of being a beastman. At first, that was all there was to being a beastman to her. It was something she needed to cope with, something bizarre and weird and isolating. It was something that made her feel like a burden to her parents, no matter how much they said otherwise. Yes, they loved her and were willing to do their best to protect her. However...

_Mum and Dad deserved better than that. There was no way I could ask them to look after me as a total shut in forever. Plus there’s people who’d harm those seen as protecting beastmen. As long as I was around them, they’d both have been in danger. Beside, there was no way I could have lived like that forever._

Even running away to Animacity had been a matter of dealing with the physical aspect of being a beastman. It was her running away to some miraculous place where she wouldn’t have to live in fear. Michiru quickly learned that she really didn’t know much about beastmen beyond that. Now though, despite a lot of awful experiences, she felt like she had a connection to other beastmen. She felt more and more like she understood other beastmen. Michiru felt like she was becoming more and more attached to other beastmen and connecting to them. Around her were beastmen who were her friends, acquaintances and neighbours. Even that weasel...

_I’m a Mink!_

Michiru nearly jumped up as the memory seemed to appear instantly to reprimand her. A chill went down her spine, as though Marie had sensed that she had been called a weasel and was glaring at her right now from some other part of Anima-city.

Even that Mink was someone she was starting to like more. That still didn’t get her to a point where she would say she liked Marie. But she could be helpful, even if it almost always came with a price tag.

Michiru also found herself more and more able to accept herself as a beastman. It was something she felt more okay with each day. The longer she was in Anima-city, the fewer and fewer days she had where she felt ashamed or repulsed by her body. There were times where she felt proud of what she could do as a shapeshifting beastman. Michiru could do things that amazed her, that amazed even other beastmen. There was even her time with that baseball team. That had been amazing.

_It’s been so long since I had that sort of experience, even if we lost in the end. But I was able to struggle hard alongside my teammates and help them win. Even with that last game, I would say that we all did our best. We even got praise from the commentor. I’m glad that I got to play again. Plus, even if it wasn’t basketball, I was playing at a professional level for a bit._

While she had been in an awful mood as she’d sat down, Michiru found herself smiling as the happier memories of her time in Anima-city filled her mind. Yes, there were still lots of hurdles to overcome. Anima-city had a lot of its own problems too and she would likely just have to learn to live with them to a degree. However, Michiru still felt that the world had been getting better and brighter for her. Whether she was accomplishing something, helping a person or just going through a relatively uneventful day, Michiru felt increasingly like she was happy with who she was. She even felt more comfortable in her beastman form than she did in her human form. There was something about being in her beastman form that felt more free, like she was proudly being herself without the concerns of others or her old fears weighing her down. 

_This all feels familiar in a way, like something I’ve gone through in a way before._

The path she had gone through in regards to being gay did have some similarities. There too, she’d struggled to accept it and had at first seen it as something to hide or reject for her own sake. When she become a beastman, Michiru first saw herself as still being a human, but who happened to now look like a beastman. When she started to become aware of being attracted to other girls, she had seen herself at first as being straight, but with odd feelings towards girls. It was so silly how her mind had put so much effort to avoid accepting something about herself. Michiru let out a laugh as she thought about that. 

_I wish I could tell Nazuna about that._

Then her memory of her last meeting with Nazuna rushed forward and Michiru’s feelings of happiness were crushed instantly. She let out a sigh and felt herself sink into her seat. When they had still both been humans, Michiru had something she had really wanted to do. She had wanted to try at a romantic confession to Nazuna. 

_I had been nearly ready to try that, confessing my feelings to my special friend. I was hoping to try and do it in some cool and romantic way and sweep Nazuna off her feet._

Then Nazuna transformed into a beastman and then was abducted. After that, Michiru just hoped that her friend was alive and okay somewhere. Even as she was stuck dealing with the effects of her own transformation, Michiru hoped that her friend was okay. That would have been more than good enough for her, to know that Nazuna was safe. If she had been able to wish for anything in that time, Michiru was sure that it would have been for that.

_I guess that I got what I wanted._

After what had felt like a lifetime apart, Nazuna had miraculously reappeared into her life. Michiru got to meet her special friend once more. But now, Nazuna was supposedly no more. That was what she had declared. She was now _Déesse_ Louve, Guru of the Silver Order. She was conning a bunch of people, though she acted like she was doing nothing wrong. Nazuna even compared it to being an idol, as though she was just doing her best to reach at her own dream. It all felt so wrong. 

_But maybe I never knew her as well as I thought I did? I do know one thing at least. I was an idiot from the moment I met her in this city._

Up to now, getting to see Nazuna again was something Michiru dreamed of. Now she could technically see Nazuna whenever she wanted. After all, they were both living in Anima-city. But that felt so hollow. Michiru felt like Nazuna was further away from her than ever. If they were to meet, she’d be meeting _Déesse_ Louve. Plus Nazuna’s words continued to claw at her. Michiru really had jumped into the situation with the cult and Nazuna without thinking about things. She’d made assumptions and acted on them, even as Nazuna had been doing stuff like defending the cult leader. Nazuna had been clear about where she stood in regards to the cult from the start. Michiru looked downward as she felt herself feeling more and more frustrated with herself. She even started to grind her teeth as she let herself sink into a building feeling of anger, which was directed mainly at herself. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Michiru looked up. It was Shirou, who was holding two plates of food. In response, she mumbled “Not really. In fact, not to be rude, but could you leave me alone for a while?”.

She hoped he would just go away. But Shirou stayed there. “I can’t do that. I swore to protect all beastmen, remember?”.

Michiru narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think me being depressed over my friend joining a cult counts as something to protect me from”.

“It can be if I want to. Plus, I’m also a social worker”. Shirou seemed to be posing to look stoically cool, though it seemed like he just did that without intending to. “I think I’m obliged to pester you about your problems as part of my job. I guess I should actually do that sort of work once in a while”.

Michiru laughed and she noticed Shirou actually smile slightly. “Fine. I’ll talk about my problems with you, Shirou, if you really want that. But this is probably going to be annoying to listen to. So if you want to just give up and go, I won’t hold it against you”.

“I assume you’re trying to push me away from this conversation. You’ve been stubborn often in the short time I’ve known you. It’s been helpful”. After saying that with a bit of affection in his his voice, Shirou then confidently declared “But I’m willing to be just as stubborn too if I feel it’s needed”.

Michiru rolled her eyes. If not for his sheer earnestness, a lot of what Shirou said or did would be ridiculous. Actually, she still found some moments to be a bit too much for. “I’ve noticed”.

“I would hope so”. Shirou seemed to be actually slightly offended. “After taking the impact of a fall from a skyscraper for the sake of my oath to all beastmen, I’d think that my stubbornness has been proven to you at least somewhat”. He then handed her one of the plates he was holding. The meal looked nice. “You should eat this before it gets cold”.

“I’ll thank Miss Horner for this later”.

Shirou sat down by her. “Actually, I made it”

Michiru raised an eyebrow. “Really?”.

“What is with that response?”.

“Oh, you just seem like someone who would be too busy for proper meals”. Michiru definitely saw him as the sort of person who’d be far too focused on work and would probably rely on fast food and ready meals unless he had someone to help him.

“If I don’t feed myself properly, then I won’t be able to fulfil my duties to all beastmen”. Shirou then, sounding more casual, added. “Also, this is something nice that I can cook well. I thought it could be a nice treat after your encounter with that cult. You’ve clearly been depressed since then. I thought some good food might help you feel a bit better”.

_Yeah, that’s true._

Michiru smiled to herself as she thought about how nice it was to get treated like this, especially by someone like Shirou. _It’s almost like an honour._

“Plus I could use some comfort food too now that the Mayor was forced to act sooner than planned”. Shirou glared down at his plate, irritation evident in his voice. “I already have a lot of extra work to deal with, thanks to your friend forcing her to accept the cult formally into the city, and we’re doing our best to adapt to the new situation. Hopefully, we can do so fast enough in the event that the intentions of the cult are a threat to Animacity. Even if they aren’t a direct threat, they could cause enough chaos that anti-beastman humans might try to take advantage of that”. 

She felt herself tense up. _Yeah, I screwed things up for more than just myself_. Michiru felt ashamed as she thought about how much of an impact her actions with Nazuna might have had on Shirou and others already. “Sorry”. She felt a bit pathetic as she said it, as though it didn’t mean remotely enough to express her regret. “I’m really sorry, Shirou. I’ve made such a mess of things and I know I should have known better and I….”.

Shirou sharply raised a hand to get her to stop. “You don’t need to apologise. It’s not your fault. You might have acted a bit rashly, but you were acting to help a potentially vulnerable person escape an unsafe environment. Plus, as I understand it, she was your friend, right?”.

“More than that”.

Shirou reacted to that with just a nod. “I see. Well, that just reinforces my point. She was someone you naturally trusted. Ordinary people obviously aren’t prepared for the way a cult works and how it can twist a person into acting in ways you’d never expect. To expect a person to suddenly look upon someone dear to them with that kind of suspicion is not reasonable”. He then grimaced. “If anyone needs to apologise, it’s me. I could see the threat potentially posed by her and I was hoping to protect you against that threat. I failed and acted in such a way that I increased the chance of you ending up in danger. You felt that your friend was in danger and I acted in such a way that probably seemed uncaring or hostile in a way she could use to her advantage”. He bowed his head. “I am very sorry”.

Michiru’s eyes widened. “You shouldn’t apologise to me! This really is my fault. Everything I needed to know better was right in front of me and I ignored it all”.

No, he shouldn’t. Because to her, it felt like Nazuna had been right. Michiru had projected her own desires upon her friend. Nazuna had never said she wanted what Michiru had assumed she’d want. In fact, thinking about it from Nazuna’s apparent perspective, her friend saw the cult guy, Boris, as someone who she owed a lot to. The cult were likely people she really cared about. Why wouldn’t someone with a group of people to look after do what she could to help them, especially when it involved just letting Michiru do what she wanted to do? She felt like she’d been betrayed, but it was hard to look at it and feel like she hadn’t walked into it. Michiru wanted to be angry at Nazuna, but she found it hard to think of something to justify that. Instead, she felt empty and miserable and like the connection between her and the one she had loved had been crudely and brutally ripped away. 

_This isn’t fair. This isn’t right at all._

Shirou tried to look her in the eye, getting her attention away from her self-incriminating thoughts even she avoided his gaze. “Michiru, I want to make sure that you know that you shouldn’t judge yourself too harshly for what happened. You just trusted someone who matters a lot to you, who you loved. Maybe you should have been more cautious, but you are not responsible for Nazuna’s actions or those of the Order of the Silver Wolf. They are their own persons and their actions are ultimately something they are responsible for”. 

That might have been true, but Michiru didn’t feel like it made that much of a difference. “I betrayed the Mayor, even though she’s done so much to make me feel welcome and to help me. She’s even looking into my disease for my sake and yet I forced her into a situation where she needed to let a cult into this city”.

Michiru couldn’t stop herself from thinking about what had happened and her feelings of guilt and of losing Nazuna. She felt her eyes start to water and she closed them. Michiru didn’t want to cry about this, definitely not now in front of Shirou. It would be wrong if Shirou pitied her. He would, because he could care about others to an extreme and passionate degree. She would always remember how he’d cried without a care in public from simply seeing happy beastmen celebrating Animacity’s anniversary. He had an amazing capacity for empathy and that was admirable, even if she felt it was excessive at times. But Michiru felt like she didn’t deserve that.  
  
Then she felt an arm embrace her. Confused, she opened her eyes to see that Shirou was hugging her. He then spoke, his voice sounding oddly tender for him. “I know the Mayor well. I know she will understand that you didn’t mean to cause her any trouble. I know she’ll forgive you”. After a pause, he added “I’ve already forgiven you myself”.

Michiru wanted to object. To her, the idea of him or the Mayor forgiving her as easily as he seemed to felt wrong. But she stopped herself. _I’m not going to be that stupid._

She instead said nothing and let Shirou hug her. After a bit of times passed, they then separated. Michiru then was embarrassed to noticed that there were damp spots on Shirou’s shoulder where her head had been. 

“Sorry”.

“It’s fine”. Shirou seemed either to have not noticed her tears on his shoulder or just didn’t care. “I know that I’m not particularly suited to it, but I can lend an ear in regards to your problems if you wish to talk about them. Even if it’s in regards to….”. Shirou winced before adding “...your ex girlfriend and your romantic life”.

Michiru blushed. “She wasn’t my girlfriend. We never got to that point”.

“Sorry”. She glared at him in response to that. He just looked at her with apparent indifference.

_You’re so dense._

Michiru stopped herself from letting out a sigh. He was just trying to be friendly and supportive, in his weird stoic way. “I wish we had gotten there. Part of me still wishes that we could. But I don’t think she likes me any more. I don’t know how I can change that. I’m not sure I could do it, at least morally”.

_Nazuna’s out there as a different person from who I thought I knew, deceiving beastmen into thinking she’s the vessel of a god._

The memories of her time together with Nazuna, before all of this, flickered through her mind. Despite their last meeting, the memories of their bond still felt wonderful. She still loved Nazuna. She still felt a feeling of resolve fill her heart as she recalled how they were going to still achieve their dreams together despite that accident. The time they spend as friends, the memories of having fun or supporting each other or just being together, just relaxing or listening to music… She would never stop treasuring them. 

_Listening to Night Running still makes me feel happy._

But none of that changed the fact that what the cult was doing was wrong. In regards to whatever was lying ahead, Michiru had decided on the path she wanted to take. 

“Shirou, I know I’ve made things worse. I know it would probably be smarter to stay out of this. But I can’t just stand back while Nazuna is exploiting the beliefs of others. I feel like I need to try and make amends. More importantly, I want to help other beastmen however I can”. As she spoke, she hoped she could convey her resolve, could show Shirou the burning determination within her. “I might not have any oaths about protecting people or anything, but I still have my own sense of right and wrong. There are things I can’t ignore, not when I can try to something about them. If Nazuna or that cult creep try anything that will hurt others, I’m going to act. I know it’ll probably be dangerous, but I won’t let that stop me from doing the right thing. I’m not going to let you stop me either if that’s what you're planning to do”. 

Michiru glared at Shirou, readying herself for him to oppose her or tell her off for being silly. But Shirou just raised an eyebrow and smiled oddly.

“Other beastmen?”.

He apparently found something remarkable in what she said. She just gave him a blank look and, after a moment, Shirou continued. “Anyway, I know that asking you to stay out of this situation will be pointless. Even if you listened, you’d probably still end up entangled in it somehow. It’ll be better if we are working together. But I need to know that you’ll take my instructions seriously. If I give them, it’s because I feel they’re needed. I do trust you, but there are still times where I must give instructions or be stern because it’s needed. It can make the difference between whether an innocent person dies or not. When you came here with your friend, I was worried that you might be in danger. When you ran out of here to join her, I didn’t know what might happen to you while you were with them”.

That last bit made Michiru feel guilty. But she’d deal with that feeling at a better time. “Given some of the stuff we’ve been through, I’m sure I’ll be in danger at some point no matter what”. She let out an awkward chuckle. “But I’ll do my best to not cause any more problems. I can’t afford to screw up again, not when other beastmen might be counting on us. I’m not going to let myself be a liability to you if we’re… um.. partners. We’d be partners, right?”. 

Shirou looked at her silently, Michuru soon feeling as though she might start to actually wilt under his intense gaze, especially as actually putting the idea of being partners to Shirou was awkward enough. But she refused to let herself break.

Shirou nodded. “Sure, we can be partners”. He then grinned slightly. “Especially if that means you’ll actually listen to what I tell you. Maybe I should have done that ages ago if that was the price to pay”.

Kuro suddenly squawked. Shirou looked at his bird companion who then pointed at his plate with its beak.

“Oh, right. I forgot about my meal”. He took a bite out of it. After swallowing it, he frowned.

“It’s stone cold”.

Michiru laughed. After a moment of looking glumly at his plate, Shirou looked at Michiru who was still laughing. He then smiled. “At least something good came from me missing out eating a good meal like this while it was fresh”.

“You can reheat it”.

“Yes, but it won’t be as good”. Despite that complaint, he still got up, clearly intending to reheat it, with Kuro going with him. Once again alone, Michiru was quick to return to her thoughts, though with a different mindset.

_I might not fully understand what you’ve been through, Nazuna, and maybe there are good reasons for why you’re the way you are now. Maybe you’re right about me not changing at all. But I will change if I need to and I’ll help others in this city who want to change things too. I don’t know if there’s really much I can do. But I’m not going to give up yet._

Michiru then smiled to herself as she let herself entertain a faint, but wonderful hope. _Maybe you’ll change too, Nazuna. Maybe I really don’t know you as well as I thought I did, but I want to think that there was something genuine there when we were friends. If there was, I know you can be better than this, that you’re a good person. If we meet again and you’re interested, I’ll really listen to you and do my best to really understand you. I’ll be ready to offer my hand to you if you want that and let you know that I’ll be there for you in the way you really want. I’ll make sure that I’m a person who’ll accept you for who you are. I hope I can be the sort of person who can help you, without being pushy or demanding. I hope that things can better, for the both of us. That’s what I want to believe because I still love you, Nazuna._


	2. Chapter 2

Michiru had decided to set out early. Shirou had said that he still needed to work on a plan of action. That left Michiru to decide what to do with herself on her own, as long as she didn't do anything that got her into serious trouble.

 _It's not like I walk into "serious trouble" intentionally, so I don't know if I can avoid that stuff no matter how hard I try. That really just depends on luck._

She'd decided to check out how the kids at the slum were doing. She'd shot off towards there with so much energy. After talking with them, she'd come out of them with her resolve to do something weakened. Michiru had asked if she could help in any way, but there was nothing for her to do. While she was there, Michiru noticed how much the Silver Wolf cult was getting new followers. She saw the pendant for their religion lots of times. Michiru liked to see the kids there happy, but the reason had her worried for them.

Apart from that, the baseball team had asked her if she'd play with them again. Michiru had said she would happily do that when she was free to do so. That had brought a smile to the faces of the team members and to some of the slum residents who supported them. As for Michiru herself, she was genuine about being happy to be play with them again. Despite all the difficulties involved and how she'd not wanted to play baseball at first, it had become something she was invested in. She really would be happy to play with the team again, if simply while practising and to try and help them improve. That had been something positive for her, but Michiru still left the slums having done nothing productive and with no other ideas of what to do with herself while waiting for Shirou. 

Now, she was shooting hoops. There was nothing else for her to do.

_This sucks. I should be doing something. Anything. I hope that this is just a feeling and that there really isn't anything for me to do. This practise is helping me stress out less over everything, but I still feel like I'm wasting my time._

As she was practising on her own, Michiru did stop for a bit to respond to a message.

 **Nina:** Hey, Michiru. We've not hung out in a while.  
 **Michiru** : I'd love to. I'm so bored.  
 **Michiru** : But I’m waiting for stupid Shirou  
 **Nina** : Aww. Daddy’s so protective of me that I rarely have a good time to just meet up with anyone. Now that I do, you’re not free.  
 **Nina:** That sucks.   
**Michiru:** Yeah. Sorry  
 **Nina:** You don’t need to apologise.  
 **Michiru:** It is my fault that I’m waiting for Shirou. I did ask him to involve me in his work.  
 **Nina** : Really? So you’re involved in a case?

Shit. Nina did know a bit about what Shirou did. This was not a good topic to focus on with someone who could use that to figure out things that Michiru didn’t want to tell others.

 **Michiru:** Maybe. But what Shirou's working on is nothing big,  
 **Nina** : Oh.  
 **Michiru:** Still, Shirou’s cool, even if he acts like such an old man at times. So even a boring case is worth waiting for a chance to be involved in.  
 **Michiru:** But I’m definitely going to hang out with you the next chance I get. That’s a promise.  
 **Nina:** I’ll be keeping you to that. ;)  
 **Nina:** I’m looking forward to hearing about how the case went.

Michiru hoped that she'd covered for her slip well enough. She'd have to make up something to tell Nina about. There was probably no way that she could reveal actual details of Shirou's investigation into the Silver Wolf cult any time soon. Still, she wondered for a moment if Nina’s father could help at all with their investigation. He surely had his own connections.

_No, I’d need to get Shirou to agree first. Plus, Nina would probably end up in a lot of trouble._

Michiru returned to doing practise shots. As she did, she couldn't help but keep thinking about the situation with the Silver Wolf cult. This city had so many problems and they weren’t problems that could be easily dealt with or even dealt with soon. It was easy to see why the Silver Wolf cult had followers, especially in the slums. Boris definitely felt like he was a slimy creep. But, thinking about it, Michiru felt like the real enemy wasn't Boris. It was the conditions that allowed a guy like Boris who used others to walk in and exploit the vulnerable. 

_Slums like those shouldn’t exist here._

Yet they did. Part of Michiru felt like the beastmen shouldn't be able to neglect their own like that. At the same time, that was probably just her lingering misconceptions. Beastmen were just as capable of that sort of thing as humans, even in the great sanctuary city of Anima-city. Mayor Rose was doing her best to improve the city. Michiru could at least believe in that. But if that wasn't enough, then would they really be able to do anything about the Silver Wolf cult. Was it even right to? It did give people a hope that made living easier.

_No, we don't need Nazuna's tricks. Beastmen working together to face problems like that is possible. If we can just believe in ourselves, in getting other beastmen to help out and our ability to change the world, then there's no need for a fake god. We can be our own hope.  
_

That thought was cheesy enough that it lightened her mood. But that only worked for a minute. Michiru was soon frowning.

_I can think that sort of thing easily. But I have no idea how to do that. I'm not some sort of leader and Rosa is. She's a good leader. If rallying everyone to change society was that easy, Rosa would have done it._

Michiru could run insanely fast or throw a stupidly strong punch or kick and there might be all sorts of things she could do with her body now. But none of it would help with the cause for the Silver Wolf cult's support. That wasn't something that could be solved with a punch or maybe even with Shirou's skills. 

_Where the hell is Shirou? I want to get started with our investigation already._

Yeah, it was better to focus on what she could deal with. Manipulating people was wrong and needed to be stopped. That much was something that Michiru could deal with. She then threw her ball, hoping to vent some of her frustration through that gesture. That was a mistake as her ball shot into the sky as a result of her throw.

_Dammit. I can't afford to buy replacement balls with my allowance._

Michiru tried to see it falling somehere or hear it landing. Where had her basketball gone? She’d put a lot of energy into throwing it, but it should have fallen down by now.

_I've probably lost it. Shirou's going to tell me off for that. Maybe he'll get me a new ball out of pity. No, getting it that way sounds awful. But the alternative is not playing basketball for a while._

She put her hands on her hips. _I guess it could be worse. I mean, it's not like I hit anyone with..._

Then a bird beastman crashed into the basket. 

“Waaaaah!”

Did she hit this person? Oh no! Did she kill someone? Panicking, Michiru bulked up her arms and stretched them to reach the beastman. She was able to take them down. Michiru then checked his pulse.

_He's alive._

That was a relief. Now to get help. Even if he was alive now, he could be injured internally and Michiru definitely wanted to make sure this didn't turn into basketball homicide.


	3. Chapter 3

Miss Horner finished her examination of the beastman, who was now lying unconscious on a bed.

“He wasn’t injured much. He’s only like this due to fatigue”.

Michiru let out a sigh of relief. Her worst fear was out of the way.

“There was no way that you committed basketball homicide in the first place, Michiru. That was a stupid idea to begin with”

She glared at Shirou, the other awake person in the room apart from her and Miss Horner. He ignored her and said “How long will it take him to recover?”.

Miss Horner shrugged her shoulders. “It might be a while. Sometime in the next 24 hours? I'd imagine that he'd be able to talk with others once he'd had enough sleep and a good meal put into him. But I can't say how much rest he needs at this moment. Even when he wakes up, we might only have enough time to see if we can get him to eat and have a drink of water. There's no guarantee that he won't quickly go back to sleep".

“That’s a bother. I’d rather talk to this guy and find out more about him right away".

“Sorry. I’ll be sure to let you know when he wakes up if he does so when you’re gone. That’s all I can do, I’m afraid”

“That’s fine".

Miss Horner nodded and then left. Shirou looked at the unconscious beastman again and frowned, then turned to talk to Michiru. “Fortunately, this isn't something big enough to derail my plans. Unfortunately, that is because I'm unable to have a plan complex enough that it being derailed is a concern. Our ability to act is limited". 

"Hmm". Michiru had been thinking that Shirou would be able to come up with some idea for how to overcome that and let them look into the cult freely.

"The Order of the Silver Wolf has done nothing wrong or suspicious enough to justify me looking into them to the police. That limits our ability to investigate it",

"Yeah. I guess that's true". Michiru did know that the order was putting up a farce with Nazuna, but she didn't have any proof of that. Maybe there was the option of tricking Nazuna into confessing that she wasn't really Ginrou-Sama. _I don't think that I can do that to Nazuna. I want to try to get her to give up the ruse with her own free will._

But that might not be possible. What if outing the truth about Nazuna was the only option to deal with the cult? _I don't know if I can do that even then. Everyone would be so angry with Nazuna. I want her to stop this,, but I don't want to put her in danger._

“I don't like what the Order is doing either. I also think that there’s something going on with them. But they’ve so far done nothing that’s illegal or that indicates illegal activity”. Shirou crossed his arms. “Boris would probably be the best bet for being the guy who’d know if the order is up to anything criminal. However, we need to be extra careful with him. How we treat him has the potential to affect the community of this city badly. I don’t want beastmen thinking that I or other protectors of this city might harass them for no reason or desire to attack belief in Ginrou. I also don’t want to make the situation worse for the Mayor". 

“Me neither". Michiru was very grateful for all that Mayor Rose had done for her. There was also how she'd already worsened things with the cult. She had no idea how she'd make up for that. “What now?".

“We’ll need to hit the streets and try to see if we can find any leads. Hopefully, we might be able to find something to dig into further if the order is doing anything illegal here. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that any evidence, if it does exist, will be outside this city. I’d rather not abandon Anima-city to conduct an investigation if I can avoid that. I also don’t want you investigating out there on my behalf".

“Why?".

“I heard about your encounter with those anti-beastmen thugs that patrol the routes to this city from Marie”. 

“Oh.

“They could kill you when you leave or return here. So give me a chance to find a lead first. If we reach a point where we can’t make any progress with the Order without going beyond the boundaries of Anima-city, talk to me first before doing anything. I want to at least be able to watch your back if it comes to that".

Shirou's voice was particularly serious sounding. Michiru was slightly impressed. He spent so much time talking in an overly serious or stoic way and to a degree that it was hard to imagine him pushing that further. But he'd done it.

_I bet his thoughts are just the same. It's probably like being trapped in a noir detective novel in there._

Anyway, he'd made his point clear. Michiru didn't want to go through the experience of being hunted down ever again. "Sure. I promise that I'll do that".

"Good". For a moment, Shirou smiled slightly. He then said “You do still have access to the outside internet through that hacked phone of yours?".

Him bringing that up couldn't be good. “What? Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t do anything illegal like keep that".

“I’ll believe that when you finish paying me back for the money you stole from me to buy that phone”

Michiru pouted. Why are you _so stingy?_

“Okay, I still have the phone. But I really need it!".

“Relax, I’m not planning to take it. In fact, it might be useful".

Michiru was momentarily confused. But she quickly realised what Shirou meant. “You want me to try to find a lead on the internet? I can try, but I’m hardly some sort of hacker. All I can do is search like anyone else”.

“You’ll be better at that than me".

Michiru shook her head. “You’re a young adult, aren’t you? How are you this shit at using computers?".

That caused Shirou to made an irritated growl. “Give me a break. It's not you're perfect. Now, will you do that for me?".

“Sure, I can do it. But you should consider forgiving the rest of my debt in return”.

Shirou, in a contemplative tone, replied “I do have other options, though I’d rather not owe whatever someone like Marie would demand in return. However, that might be the better option”.

 _I’m not anywhere close to Marie._ Michiru forced herself to smile brightly, hoping that might help her in trying to influence Shirou.

Fortunately for her and probably for Shirou too, he then said “I'll think about doing that, but it’ll be because I don’t like the feeling of being my partner’s debtor”.

Michiru let out a snigger. “How tsundere of you”

“Do you want to keep paying me back?".

“Nope!”. Michiru energetically shook her head.

“Yeah, I thought that too. So don’t push your luck”.

"Fine". Michiru hoped that she'd be lucky in regards to her debt. _It'll probably be connected to how useful I am._ "I'll try my best to find something. But I'll need to be lucky in order to find anything even slightly useful".

"I know. I'm sure that Mayor Rose has had someone do an online search. But they surely had to fit that within their other duties. You have a lot more free time to spare on something like scrolling search results".

_Hey, I have a life. I have lots of stuff I need to do with my time. Like..._

Michiru was glad that she'd not voiced that thought out loud.

“Before we start searching, I want to talk to the Mayor. She might be able to help us a bit with looking into the Order. Also, she might be able to look into that guy for us”. Shirou pointed at the beastman on the bed. Michiru nodded.

“There’s also still Sylvasta Pharmaceuticals to keep an eye on. It’s not like the rest of the world will put things on hold for us”.

That was true. Plus, Michiru had a gut feeling about that company. It might just be because it was a large business. It could just be bias. But she couldn't shake the feeling that they were probably up to something.

“I still need to keep an eye on this guy”. Shirou looked at Kuro. “Could you do that for me?”.

Kuro let out a squark, which apparently was enough for Shirou to be satisfied. "Good. Are you ready to go to the Major's Office now, Michiru, or do you need a minute?".

That was a surprise. “You’re going to let me join in your meeting with Mayor Rose? Even after my last meeting with her forced her to let the Order settle in Anima-city?". 

Shirou nodded. _Wow. I’d expect him to tell me to wait for him to do that on his own and then be able to share only what he wanted to later on._

“You’re my partner. That’s what you said. So you need to be with me for meetings like this one”. Shirou then teasingly added “Plus, I know there's no point in trying to get past your nosiness".

Michiru rolled her eyes. "Do you treat everyone who works with you like this or do I only get this honour?".

Shirou turned around and left the room without answering her. Michiru followed him and they soon had left both the unconscious birdman and the Beastman Co-op behind them as they set off for the Mayor’s office.


End file.
